China tariff move cheers Wall Street as investors await ECB

Wall Street stocks jumped Wednesday after China removed some US goods from its tariff list, while European equities climbed ahead of a closely-watched central bank meeting.

After two lackluster sessions, US stocks scored solid gains, with the Nasdaq winning more than one percent and the S&P 500 finishing above 3,000 points for the first time since July.

The advance came after China exempted some US goods from a new round of tariffs, saving some seafood and anti-cancer drugs from the hit. US President Donald Trump welcomed the development as a "big move."

However, Beijing did not spare high-profile US products like soybeans and pork.

The move came as the economic powers are expected to resume high-level trade talks next month.

Analysts also pointed to expectations that central banks will providing more help in the form of rate cuts and other stimulus.

"Equities have the best of both worlds," said Karl Haeling of LBBW, citing expectations of central bank easing even as the economy is "okayish."

The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates again next week, an outcome Trump has been demanding almost constantly. In his latest outburst on Twitter Wednesday he said rates should "BE BROUGHT WAY DOWN" and castigated Fed Chair Jay Powell and other US central bankers as "Boneheads."

Before the Fed weighs in, however, the European Central Bank is scheduled to meet Thursday and is expected to enact new stimulus measures in response to economic sluggishness.

Possible steps by the ECB include mass bond-buying, further interest rate cuts and a fresh round of cheap loans to banks.

European bourses advanced ahead of the gathering, while the euro value slipped.

Still, BK Asset Management's Kathy Lien warned of a "reasonable chance the ECB will under deliver."

Oil prices fall

Elsewhere, oil prices retreated on reports Trump could adopt a more conciliatory stance towards Iran following the dismissal of the hard-liner John Bolton as national security advisor.

Shares of the London Stock Exchange Group jumped 5.9 percent after the Hong Kong Stock Exchange bid almost Â£32 billion ($39.5 billion) in a shock move Wednesday to unite two of the world's largest financial hubs in Asia and Europe.

The blockbuster proposal including debt, worth $40 billion or 36 billion euros, is however dependent on the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) scrapping a planned $27-billion takeover of US financial data provider Refinitiv.

In reaction, LSEG said it would "consider the proposal" but stressed that it "remains committed" to buying Refinitiv.

Among individual companies, Boeing rocketed 3.6 percent higher after Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg confirmed the company was still on track to receive approval early in the fourth quarter to resume flights on the 737 MAX, which has been grounded since March after two deadly crashes.

Apple advanced 3.2 percent as investors cheered a spate of new product and service launches, including new streaming and gaming services.